Choosing the right eCommerce platform is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your online business. Get it right and you have a foundation that supports growth and makes your job/life easier. Get it wrong and you’ll face expensive migrations, technical limitations, and missed opportunities.
For established brands doing $20M+ in online revenue, the decision typically comes down to two enterprise-ready platforms: Shopify Plus and BigCommerce. While WooCommerce exists as an option, most brands at your scale find that the management overhead and technical complexity aren’t worth the tradeoffs.
This guide provides an honest comparison of these platforms to help you make an informed decision. We’ll cover capabilities, pricing, scalability, and when each platform makes the most sense—based on our experience implementing both for brands at your scale.
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Overview of Each Platform
Shopify / Shopify Plus
What it is:
Hosted SaaS platform owned by Shopify. Shopify Plus is the enterprise tier designed for high-volume brands.
Market position:
Most popular eCommerce platform globally, especially strong with DTC brands and mid-market retailers.
Best known for:
Ease of use, reliability, extensive app ecosystem, and robust hosted infrastructure.
Typical users:
DTC brands, fashion and apparel, beauty and cosmetics, food and beverage, brands doing $1M-$500M+ in revenue.
BigCommerce
What it is:
SaaS eCommerce platform offering enterprise features without the complexity of traditional enterprise solutions.
Market position:
Growing presence in mid-market and enterprise, especially strong in B2B and multi-channel selling.
Best known for:
Built-in features reducing the need for apps, multi-channel capabilities, B2B functionality, and headless commerce options.
Typical users:
B2B and hybrid B2B/B2C brands, multi-channel retailers, brands with complex catalogs, companies doing $5M-$100M+.
WooCommerce
What it is:
Open-source WordPress plugin turning WordPress sites into eCommerce stores.
Market position:
Popular for small businesses and budget-conscious startups.
Reality for $20M+ brands:
While WooCommerce offers flexibility, the technical overhead, hosting management, security concerns, and need for constant developer resources make it impractical for most brands at scale. The apparent cost savings disappear when you factor in developer time, hosting infrastructure, and management burden.
Why we rarely recommend it:
At $20M+ revenue, your time is better spent growing your business than managing hosting, security patches, plugin conflicts, and technical infrastructure. Modern SaaS platforms (Shopify Plus, BigCommerce) provide enterprise reliability without the overhead.
Feature Comparison
Ease of Use and Setup
Shopify / Shopify Plus: ★★★★★
Extremely user-friendly. Admin interface is intuitive. Strong documentation and support.
BigCommerce: ★★★★★
Fairly easy to use, but slightly steeper learning curve than Shopify. More features built-in mean more to learn. Robust API allowing more choice in integrations. Good documentation but smaller community.
WooCommerce: ★★☆☆☆
Requires WordPress knowledge and ongoing technical management. Hosting setup, security, updates, and plugin conflicts create ongoing maintenance burden. Not recommended for brands focused on growth rather than technical management.
Built-In Features vs. Apps
Shopify / Shopify Plus:
Core platform is lean. Many features require apps from their massive app store (8,000+ apps). This is both a strength (flexibility) and a weakness (app costs add up, potential integration issues).
BigCommerce:
More features built into the core platform—multi-channel selling, advanced product options, customer segmentation, abandoned cart recovery. Open API is robust, allowing more choice for third party integrations.
WooCommerce:
Core plugin is basic—everything requires WordPress plugins and custom development. Plugin quality varies wildly, and conflicts are common. Requires significant ongoing developer resources.
Scalability and Performance
Shopify / Shopify Plus:
Excellent scalability—handles traffic spikes effortlessly (BFCM, flash sales). Shopify Plus includes dedicated support, custom checkout, and enterprise features. Hosting is fully managed and extremely reliable.
BigCommerce:
Excellent scalability with no bandwidth limits or transaction caps. The enterprise tier provides dedicated support and advanced features. Managed hosting with good reliability.
WooCommerce:
Scalability entirely dependent on hosting choices and technical implementation. Can handle volume with proper infrastructure, but requires significant technical expertise, ongoing management, and often expensive hosting. Performance issues are common without expert oversight.
Customization and Flexibility
Shopify / Shopify Plus:
Good customization within the Shopify ecosystem. Liquid templating language is powerful but has a learning curve. Shopify Plus offers more customization, including checkout. Some limitations on what you can modify.
BigCommerce:
Excellent customization options. Modern front-end frameworks (React, Vue, etc.) can be used within strong headless capabilities. More flexibility than Shopify in many areas without going fully custom.
WooCommerce:
Complete flexibility to modify anything, but requires ongoing developer resources. Most brands at scale find the flexibility isn’t worth the management overhead and technical complexity.
Multi-Channel Selling
Shopify / Shopify Plus:
Strong multi-channel capabilities—sell on Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest. Centralized inventory management. Point-of-sale for retail.
BigCommerce:
Excellent multi-channel selling—native integrations with major marketplaces. Often considered stronger than Shopify for omnichannel operations. Built-in rather than app-based.
WooCommerce:
Multi-channel requires plugins with varying quality. Significantly more complex than enterprise SaaS platforms and requires ongoing maintenance.
B2B Capabilities
Shopify / Shopify Plus:
B2B features available through apps or Shopify Plus B2B functionality. Growing but historically not as strong as competitors. Improving with native B2B features.
BigCommerce:
Strong native B2B functionality—customer groups, price lists, quote management, custom pricing. Often chosen specifically for B2B or hybrid B2B/B2C operations.
WooCommerce:
B2B requires plugins with inconsistent quality and ongoing maintenance. Not recommended for serious B2B operations.
SEO Capabilities
Shopify / Shopify Plus:
Good SEO fundamentals—customizable URLs, meta tags, sitemaps, fast loading. Some limitations (can’t remove /collections/ from URLs without workarounds). Generally SEO-friendly.
BigCommerce:
Excellent SEO capabilities—full URL control, advanced SEO features, microdata support. Often considered slightly better than Shopify for technical SEO.
WooCommerce:
Good SEO potential leveraging WordPress, but requires expertise and ongoing optimization. Security and performance issues can negatively impact SEO if not managed properly.
International and Multi-Currency
Shopify / Shopify Plus:
Strong international capabilities—multi-currency, international domains, localized checkout. Shopify Markets simplifies selling globally.
BigCommerce:
Good multi-currency support and international selling capabilities. Can handle complex international requirements.
WooCommerce:
International requires plugins and significant configuration. Complex to manage at scale across multiple markets.
Winner: Shopify Plus for effortless international expansion.
Pricing Comparison
Shopify / Shopify Plus
Standard Shopify Plans:
- Basic: $39/month
- Shopify: $105/month
- Advanced: $399/month
Shopify Plus:
- Starting at $2,000/month (typically $2,000-$5,000+/month depending on volume)
- Negotiated based on revenue
- Includes dedicated support, automation tools, and custom checkout
Transaction Fees:
- 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic) to 2.4% + 30¢ (Advanced) if not using Shopify Payments
- 0% if using Shopify Payments (but standard credit card processing fees apply)
Additional Costs:
- Apps: $50-$500+/month depending on needs
- Themes: $0-$350 (one-time)
- Custom development: Variable
Total realistic cost for $20M+ brand:
Shopify Plus: $2,000-$5,000/month platform + $200-$1,000/month apps = $2,200-$6,000/month
BigCommerce
Standard Plans:
- Standard: $39/month (up to $50K annual sales)
- Plus: $105/month (up to $180K annual sales)
- Pro: $399/month (up to $400K annual sales)
Enterprise:
- Custom pricing starting around $1,000-$2,000/month
- Negotiated based on revenue and needs
- No revenue caps or transaction fees
Transaction Fees:
- None (regardless of payment processor used)
Additional Costs:
- Apps: $0-$300+/month (less reliance on apps than Shopify)
- Themes: $0-$300 (one-time)
- Custom development: Variable
Total realistic cost for $20M+ brand:
Enterprise: $1,000-$3,000/month platform + $100-$500/month apps = $1,100-$3,500/month
WooCommerce
Platform:
- Free (open-source plugin)
Reality Check:
While the plugin itself is free, WooCommerce is far from “free” for $20M+ brands:
Required Costs:
- Enterprise hosting: $500-$2,000+/month (shared hosting can’t handle your scale)
- SSL, security, backups: $100-$500/month
- Developer resources: $5,000-$15,000+/month (ongoing maintenance, updates, troubleshooting)
- Plugins and extensions: $200-$1,000/month
- Performance monitoring and optimization: $500-$1,000/month
Total realistic cost for $20M+ brand:
$6,300-$18,500/month
The hidden truth: When you factor in the developer time needed to build features that come standard with Shopify Plus or BigCommerce, plus the management overhead and technical risk, WooCommerce often costs more while delivering less reliability.
Our recommendation: At $20M+ revenue, invest in enterprise SaaS platforms (Shopify Plus or BigCommerce) that let you focus on growing your business rather than managing technical infrastructure.
Pros and Cons Breakdown
Shopify / Shopify Plus
Pros:
- Easiest to use and launch quickly
- Extremely reliable and scalable hosting
- Massive app ecosystem for extensions
- Excellent for DTC brands
- Strong multi-channel capabilities
- Great community and resources
- PCI compliance handled automatically
- Regular updates and new features
Cons:
- Transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments
- App costs add up quickly
- Some customization limitations
- Less control over hosting/infrastructure
- /collections/ in URLs requires workarounds
- Can feel “locked in” to the ecosystem
Best for:
DTC brands, fashion and apparel, brands wanting ease of use, companies that need to launch quickly, brands focused on US/North American markets.
BigCommerce
Pros:
- No transaction fees (use any payment processor)
- More built-in features reduce app dependency
- Strong B2B capabilities
- Excellent omnichannel selling
- Good headless commerce support
- Better out-of-the-box SEO than Shopify
- Lower long-term costs (fewer apps needed)
- Handles large catalogs well
Cons:
- Steeper learning curve than Shopify
- Smaller app ecosystem than Shopify
- Less community support/resources
- Revenue thresholds on standard plans
- The theme selection is smaller than Shopify
Best for:
B2B and hybrid brands, multi-channel retailers, brands with complex products/options, companies wanting lower total cost of ownership, brands selling on multiple marketplaces.
WooCommerce
Pros:
- Complete code ownership and flexibility
- No monthly platform fees (but significant other costs)
- Deep WordPress integration
Cons:
- Requires constant technical management and developer resources
- You’re responsible for hosting, security, performance, and updates
- Scalability challenges and performance issues common
- Plugin conflicts and quality inconsistency
- Higher total cost than appears (developer time, hosting, management)
- Technical complexity diverts focus from growing business
- Security vulnerabilities require constant vigilance
- No enterprise support or SLAs
Why we don’t recommend it for $20M+ brands:
The management overhead, technical complexity, and hidden costs make WooCommerce impractical for established brands. Modern SaaS platforms provide enterprise reliability, security, and features without the burden of managing technical infrastructure. Your team’s time is better spent growing revenue than troubleshooting plugin conflicts or managing server updates.
When Each Platform Makes Sense
Choose Shopify / Shopify Plus If:
You want enterprise reliability without complexity
Shopify Plus provides the easiest path to a professional, scalable, reliable store.
You’re a DTC brand
Shopify was built for direct-to-consumer and excels in this model.
You need to launch or migrate quickly
Can go live in weeks with minimal risk.
You want proven, battle-tested infrastructure
Shopify handles BFCM traffic spikes effortlessly year after year.
You value ecosystem and community
Massive community, extensive resources, proven apps, abundant expertise.
You’re doing $1M-$100M in revenue
Shopify Plus scales excellently across this entire range.
Choose BigCommerce If:
You have B2B requirements or hybrid B2B/B2C
Native B2B functionality is robust and enterprise-ready.
You want to avoid transaction fees
Use any payment processor without platform fees.
You sell on multiple channels and marketplaces
Industry-leading omnichannel capabilities built into the platform.
You have large or complex product catalogs
Handles variations, options, and catalog complexity better than competitors.
You want lower total cost of ownership
More built-in features mean fewer apps and lower ongoing costs.
You need enterprise flexibility without technical overhead
Good balance between power and ease of use.
What About WooCommerce?
WooCommerce made sense if:
You’re a small business under $1M revenue with technical resources and limited budget.
Better alternatives:
If you need extreme customization, consider headless commerce with Shopify Plus or BigCommerce as the backend. You get flexibility without the management burden of self-hosted solutions.
Migration Considerations
Migrating Between Platforms
If you’re considering moving platforms, understand the complexity:
Data Migration:
- Products, variants, and attributes
- Customer records and purchase history
- Order history
- Content and media
- SEO considerations (redirects critical)
Technical Migration:
- Custom integrations need rebuilding
- Apps/plugins replaced with platform equivalents
- Payment gateway setup
- Shipping configurations
- Custom functionality recreation
Typical Timeline:
3-9 months for brands with complex requirements.
Typical Cost:
$75,000-$300,000+ depending on complexity, catalog size, and customizations.
We’ve executed dozens of platform migrations—including complex ones maintaining over 1M customer records with zero data loss. Experience matters significantly in de-risking these transitions.
Learn About Our Platform Migration Services
Getting Expert Help with Platform Selection
Choosing the wrong platform is expensive, both in migration costs and opportunity costs from limitations.
We help brands:
- Evaluate platforms objectively based on your specific needs
- Understand total cost of ownership (not just sticker price)
- Plan migrations that preserve SEO and customer relationships
- Implement whichever platform you choose
- Optimize performance post-launch
Schedule a Platform Consultation →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch platforms later if I need to?
Yes, but migrations are complex and expensive ($50K-$300K+). It’s better to choose right initially between Shopify Plus and BigCommerce. Both scale to $100M+ so you won’t outgrow them. We’ve executed dozens of successful migrations.
Which platform is best for SEO?
Both Shopify Plus and BigCommerce are excellent for SEO. BigCommerce has slight technical advantages, but SEO success depends more on execution than platform choice. Both provide everything you need for strong organic performance.
Do I need Shopify Plus or is regular Shopify enough?
Shopify Plus makes sense around $1M-$2M in annual revenue, definitely by $5M+. At $20M+, Shopify Plus is the clear choice—provides enterprise support, advanced features, and better economics.
Which is cheapest long-term?
BigCommerce typically has the lowest total cost of ownership due to built-in features reducing app costs and no transaction fees. However, both Shopify Plus and BigCommerce offer excellent value at enterprise scale.
Can these platforms handle international selling?
Yes, both excel at international selling. Shopify Markets makes global expansion particularly easy. BigCommerce also supports comprehensive international operations.
What about headless commerce?
Both platforms support modern headless approaches. BigCommerce has particularly strong headless capabilities. Shopify supports it via Hydrogen and Storefront API. This gives you flexibility without WooCommerce’s management overhead.
Should I consider WooCommerce to save money?
For $20M+ brands, no. The apparent savings disappear when you factor in developer time ($5K-$15K+/month), hosting, security, and management overhead. Enterprise SaaS platforms provide better value and let you focus on growth rather than technical management.
Related Resources
eCommerce Website Design & Conversion Optimization →
How we build and optimize sites on all three platforms
Ultimate Guide to Hiring an eCommerce Marketing Agency →
Finding partners who can implement and optimize your platform
eCommerce Agency Case Studies →
See our work with Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce sites
How to Choose the Best eCommerce Agency →
Evaluation framework for finding the right implementation partner
Let Us Help You Choose
Platform selection is critical and complex. We’ve implemented all three platforms dozens of times and can provide objective guidance based on your specific situation.
Schedule a Free Platform Consultation →
About LimeLight Marketing
LimeLight Marketing is a full-service eCommerce agency with deep expertise implementing and optimizing Shopify Plus and BigCommerce sites for established brands. We’ve helped brands like Backyard Discovery, Sunnyland Farms, and dozens of others launch and migrate platforms successfully—focusing on enterprise-ready solutions that scale.
Platform Services: Platform Selection Consulting | Shopify Plus Development | BigCommerce Implementation | Platform Migrations | Enterprise eCommerce Optimization
